Picking through the driftwood to see why it sunk…

This blog is a venue for the research, writings, and musings of an unapologetic leftist and quasi-materialist. I have begun to learn that this world is more complex, and more disturbed, than most give it credit, and here I hope to hone my ability to penetrate some of those layers of complexity. My areas of focus are political economy, economic history, and anthropology, with a touch of musical whimsy thrown in. I cant say that the writing here, however, will be well developed – I am as unfocused and easily distractable as I am apathetic, and this is primarily an exercise in improving my writing skills. If one thinks the world is a convoluted trash heap, at least ones explanation of why that is the case can be clean and elegant.

“I”, by the way, am (is?) a disenchanted vagabond, currently teaching English in Xiaogan, China (yes, because I had no clue what else to do), passing the lonely nights by massaging the magic lamp that is the internet for tidbits of injustice about the world at large. It is a cold and empty existence, and impotent rage is the mistress who warms my bed at night.

If you are at all interested, by the way, Mystification is a term used by Marxist academics (amoung others) to refer to the process through which exploitation by the owners of capital conceal their unjust appropriations of resources by creating the illusion that they create value – essentially the justifications a white collar middle management fellow uses to explain why he gets three times the salary of his employees to act as a glorified baby sitter. I cant say I’m totally on board the HMS Mystification, as captained by Marx, but the term is eminently useful for nailing how so many justify the current structure of the world.